Before She Knew
by Speechless Thinking
Summary: Korra as about five years old before she knew she was the avatar, and growing up. Please note, I'm going to add more to this, and I don't own The Legend of Korra or anything involved with it, just this idea. Thanks.
1. Korra's Birthday

The Avatar was supposed to be the master of all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire.

The Avatar had more power, was the wisest, strongest, and the most uncontrollable force know to walk the world of the benders. No one messed with the Avatar.

At least, that's how it should have been. But then Avatar Aang died, and the search was on for his reincarnation.

It was almost like the Avatar's soul did not want to be found again. Five years after Aang's death, many benders and non-benders alike began to believe that there would be a repeat of the hundred years Aang was missing.

The White Lotus searched and conducted tests on a countless number of children, but with each failure, with each possibility that this child might just be the Avatar that raised the hopes that were soon dashed by the fact that this child wasn't the one; people steadily began to become surer that their child might be the one.

The highest members of the White Lotus had by now traveled even the most exotic places of their world, ever searching for that one glimpse of raw power. Their search led them to the barest and most desolate face on the Earth. The South Pole.

Upon their arrival, they immediately traveled to the capital of the Southern Water Tribe, and word soon spread from the city to the small, scarce villages around it. Water was the next in the cycle, and thousands flooded through the city gates to get their children tested, just because they held onto that small hope that their child was the Avatar.

This was what Korra knew at the age of about five and a half, the hope that was set ablaze in the eyes of proud parents, and soon kindled in the hearts of children. That their child, if a powerful enough bender, might be singled out among the floods of other children as the single most powerful bender to walk the Earth.

Korra watched as one by one, people she had been growing up with left the smallest of the Water Tribe villages, the yearning and desire for the title that would make them more powerful than all the rest clearly showing in their eyes. She watched as, upon their return, the hope in their eyes disappeared and was replaced with something like disgust, anger, pain, and a sort of brokenness in their hearts that healed back crooked.

The children she lived with never acted the same after they came home from seeing those strange flower-men in the city.

Where there used to be a kindness and joy and freeness in each child's life there now was a hostility and anger and jerkiness in each of their actions.

Korra had never been a powerful bender, and she hadn't wanted to be. Especially not after seeing the lives of the children and their parents after each of the hopes they inherited from their parents blew up in their faces. She didn't want that for her family, and she did not want the power. Not like these children did, and not like her parents did.

But as the numbers of the children from each village narrowed down, the more excited her own parents became as the possibility that their little Korra could be the next Avatar rose, and as the open dislike and hostility between Korra and the other benders of her tribe became more obvious.

The children she had used to go penguin sledding with, had used to spend every waking hour with, now laughed at the attempts of her parents to get her to become more powerful. They laughed at her weakness, and told her she would do nothing more than wash the dirty laundry of other people. Korra never fought back when they began to throw snowballs with rocks or hard ice in the middle, she didn't defend herself.

Korra kept her mouth shut and would just walk away.

She didn't blame the other children for treating her this way, she was weak, and they had their hearts crushed, and she was sure their parents that had once revered their child now treated them much differently. But then again, what did she know? She was only five.

More months past, and although the attacks of the children had calmed down, they hadn't stopped altogether. Nor had her parents' attempts to get her to do something amazing.

Why couldn't her parents or those other kids understand?

Korra was nothing special. She wasn't amazing or powerful or anything. She was different, yeah, but that was only because of the way she was being treated.

By her parents, it was as if she was the most powerful, important bender of the world.

By the other children, she should be eliminated, and the stones in the snowballs were larger.

When Korra turned six, something happened. Something she had never thought would. Up until now, her parents had been kind, almost too kind, trying to spoil their daughter and get her to show her love for them by doing outrageous things in order to make up for the lavish gifts her parents gave her. Sometimes the tricks her parents had her try to do would cause her great pain and she'd pass out from it.

She didn't get why they would treat her like that, or why they'd want her to be the Avatar. The Avatar, if that was a title that could change a people this much, then she didn't want to know what kind of powers the actual person might have.

Up until her birthday, the day things changed, her parents had hurt her trying to get her to be someone she wasn't. But they'd always apologize and would keep her safe and warm from the harsh winter colds, and from the stones other children threw at her.

She'd never have expected her parents to give up on her suddenly, in the middle of one of their exercises, and start a rant on how worthless and weak and pathetic she was. She was fine with that, she understood the fact that she didn't meet up to her parents' expectations.

What hurt her the most about her birthday was when, instead of saving Korra from the stones children threw at her lately, her parents joined in. And with those two adults among the children, other bitter parents joined the group of small children and Korra's own parents.

Up until Korra's birthday, she had never been hit by a stone, but it was amazing how much the accuracy of the children improved with the addition of those menacing looking adults. And it was amazing how much blood Korra had coming from her small body.

Korra had never fought back, she had never allowed her temper to get the best of her, but on her birthday, with those pools of warm red blood melting the snow at Korra's feet, when she was so weak and helpless where she couldn't rein her anger in, she let it out.

All of it.

All the anger and pain and fear and mistreatment Korra had ever received, she threw right back at them. Her meek and useless water bending suddenly became powerful, sure movements. The water over her head arced with her body and matched her movements, and she gathered up moisture and water and ice into a large wave. With a movement of her arms, she threw all of it at her parents, and the children and those adults that were standing, looking at her with something like awe written on their faces.

They didn't move as the large torrent of water was rushing towards them.

Korra tasted something bitter sweet in the back of her mouth, and she liked it. She realized it was the taste of power, of what everyone besides her was longing for and fighting over. This was power, and strength, and she wanted more of it, to protect herself. She wanted to be strong and never have anyone hurt her like her own people did again.

The wave Korra made was almost upon those people, and soon the bitterness overcame the sweetness, and Korra felt a prickling in her eyes.

As a tear slid down her now six-year old face, Korra lowered her arms, and the water followed her movements. Soon the giant wave was just a pool of water, much like the blood at her feet.

Korra looked up into the faces of the people she had almost drowned, from the scared faces of the children, to the haunted looks of their parents, to the look of absolute success upon her own parents' faces. That last look startled her, and the pool of water rose up in a steady stream, following Korra's rising, accusing finger as she pointed over to her parents. Korra realized her parents had hurt her. Her parents had hurt her just to see that one glimpse of power Korra had become instantly addicted to.

The regret she had felt prickling the backs of her eyes was still there, as was pain and anger at her parents' betrayal.

Suddenly her mother looked surprised, and her father ashamed, as they realized themselves what they had done to their daughter to bring out that power. Korra roared out her anger, and with the rising stream of water, she formed a wall and froze it.

That wall would give her enough time to get away from all of them, because Korra now knew she couldn't live around people that starved only for her power, or that resented her because of it.

So she ran.

Later, when it was dark out, and the moon was high, Korra had never felt so cold. Her once fresh and warm clothes now felt soggy, and the biting air seemed to gnaw at her bones. Korra had faced a winter night before in the South Pole, she lived there, and of course she had. But she hadn't ever faced one like this.

Not ever this dark, this wet, this weary and tired and cold.

Korra had been walking for hours and the muscles underneath were coat were slick with sweat. Korra was shaking violently from the cold and from the exhaustion. A few more steps and she couldn't take any more. She collapsed on the frozen snow and ice. Her body began to grow numb, and it stung now, more than earlier, where the stones had hit her belly.

Korra had never wanted to be so weak again, and she knew that she wouldn't have a chance to reverse that weakness that was her right now unless she got back up and kept walking. She'd have to take care of herself until she found help.

So Korra got up, and stumbled along the snow before regaining her balance and continuing to walk.

When the moon was directly overhead, Korra thought she would collapse again, though from lack of sleep. She was pretty sure that her mind was playing tricks on her too, because from the moment she had first fallen, she had thought she saw movement out of the corners of her eyes.

Every time she saw that movement, or whatever it was, she'd twist her head and look in that direction, before shaking her head in confusion and walking on.

A six year old should not have to go through the things Korra had, although she probably wasn't the last one to, or the first.

Korra would've died that day, the day of her birthday; if it weren't for the one friend she met that saved her life.

A young polar bear-dog pup had been following her, straying far from its own family.

When Korra fell again, it raced over to her and nudged her with its wet snout, and allowed Korra to clamper up onto its back.

The polar bear-dog carried her, barking sharply occasionally, almost as if it was making sure Korra was still awake. When that happened, Korra would pat its head lightly, before burrowing in a little closer to its warm fur.

At some point that night, Korra did fall into a dreamless, black sleep. And though her eyes woke up when she heard the screaming of a woman sometime in the early morning hours, she never registered exactly what was going on. She clung on tightly to the dog carrying her on its back, that fear that her parents and old friends would hurt her again showing in her movements.

She wasn't aware of a woman running over to her, and trying to pry her arms off of the polar bear-dog, or of the strong arms of a man that must've been the woman's husband carrying her into a warm stone house.

The warmth made her shiver more, and her blue skin that had begun to be coated with ice now warmed and melted. She thought she heard a voice telling someone to grab more blankets, but she certainly felt the result of it.

Korra's eyes closed again, since everything was moving too fast, and was too dizzy and too much to bare. She didn't know that when she opened them again, she'd soon have two new, caring, loving parents, or a best friend made out of a polar bear-dog named Naga.

And she didn't know that the power she felt inside of her made her the Avatar, the most powerful bender of all.

* * *

Right, so I know this is really weird and way off-kilter, the story line is way off, so please forgive me for that. Also please forgive me for being so... Angst? Is that what this is? I don't know, I wrote this yesterday and was feeling kinda depressed, so I guess it showed in the story. Please forgive me if you like Korra being the exact opposite of whatever this is. Like I said, something happened to me yesterday and I needed to get my mind off of it, somewhat. Thanks for reading and please review if you have something to say. I don't mind anything, really, I can take any bad reviews, but I especially like the good reviews. Thanks again.


	2. Learning Moments

Over the next few weeks, as Korra lived happily with her new family for once in her life, she actively took an interest in this power of hers. She didn't completely trust these people yet, this Tonraq and Senna, but she completely adored the polar bear-pup, who in her eyes could do no wrong and she affectionately named Naga.

She didn't show what power she had to these people, although she let it be known that she was a water bender. Senna, after hearing that, offered her two things. The first was if she wanted to live with them, and the second was if she'd like to learn some water bending tricks.

Korra didn't trust them, yet, but these people had so far treated her much better than her own family did. Perhaps she would stay here.

As Korra learned some simple things about water bending, the two people that she was growing to like learned some things about her. She could be very secretive when she wanted to be, and she wouldn't tell either of them about her what happened to her that caused her to wander around in a storm. And all the other details they tried to get from Korra were lies, for the most part, but they didn't know that, although they suspected it.

How old Korra was for example. Korra had always been short for her age, and she looked a lot younger than she was, so when Tonraq asked her, she told him she was four. Korra had thought at the time that maybe she should start over, although it was too late to change her name, and she had always loved her name anyways, so that worked out for her.

Senna and Tonraq also learned that Korra had a very independent personality, and she was almost shy, although in the weeks they spent learning about each other, Korra had started to come out of her shell a little bit. When she did, they found her a lively, charming, overwhelming little girl.

Korra was also clever, although you'd never suspect it by the way she acted. She had spent nights awake listening to the movements and breathings that were coming from the room next to hers, and had learned to tell when Senna and Tonraq were truly asleep. When she knew they were, she'd sneak out and work on more difficult and intricate water bending that she had seen other water benders doing. It took up a lot of Korra's concentration and energy, so by the time she was done she'd go to bed and fall asleep almost immediately.

Senna and Tonraq thought that she just liked sleeping in, and Korra would never let them know the truth of the real reason she slept in. She still didn't trust them.

More proof of Korra's cleverness came from when she began to train Naga a few tricks. She taught Naga the simple commands like stay, come, viciously maul something… Then she taught Naga how to let Korra ride upon her back and listen to the simple movements of the reins in Korra's hands.

Through her tactics, Naga and Korra became close, and it seemed on some occasions like they completely shared one mind, one doing something without the other having given any indication. Naga was just a polar-bear-dog, but she was clever, just like Korra.

Korra's moments with Naga she allowed Senna and Tonraq to watch, these small simple moments. She had to give them something, otherwise they'd wonder what she was doing all day and start to ask questions. Korra didn't want them to, under any circumstances, ask her questions.

She liked her privacy.

Unknown to her, Senna and Tonraq already asked questions, albeit silent one's to themselves. They were beginning to understand just how remarkable Korra really was. It was if she didn't even realize the significance of what she was doing.

They thought Korra knew that no one in the South Pole had ever been able to completely befriend, let alone tame, a polar-bear dog, which both were what Korra was doing with Naga. Senna was beginning to learn things about water bending from Korra, since Korra was a quick learner and caught on faster than Senna had thought possible. Korra was imaginative, and had an interesting way of looking at things, and seemed to take a particular interest when fighting with water bending.

Senna and Tonraq would never have guessed that such a shy, sweet little girl like Korra could be so aggressive.

But Senna had made it her personal business to make sure that Korra would fall out of her comfort zone and maybe, just maybe, become a little more confident in her abilities. Korra was determined enough, and hard-working and talented to boot. All Korra needed was a little push in the right direction sometimes, and then it was like Korra would just click with what was going on and push right through it.

Slowly, but surely, they each began to trust each other. They began to act easily around each other, and laugh and smile and talk like they had always been together. It was almost like they were actually a family, although technically Senna and Tonraq were before Naga and Korra showed up. Senna and Tonraq had just made room for them and adjusted easily.

But it surprised them all when Korra actually slipped up on what she called Tonraq one evening before bed. Tonraq had been carrying Korra into the guest room they gave her, since she had practically fallen asleep after playing, practicing, and scrapping some ice off of the sled that day. Senna was following just behind Tonraq, both smiling down at the little dark haired, warm colored blue-eyed girl falling asleep in Tonraq's arms.

As Tonraq laid Korra down in her bed, pulling the heavy blankets up, Korra mumbled something quietly, although both Tonraq and Senna heard. Korra had said, over half asleep, "Goodnight papa."

At those words, a large smile escaped Tonraq's lips, and he felt an over bearing joy bursting in his chest. He beamed over at his wife and whispered proudly, "She called me papa."

Senna smiled at those words too. Korra hadn't seen their exchange, or had even realized what she had said before falling asleep. The fact that they were in the same room as her when she did fall asleep spoke loud volumes to her, although she wouldn't think about its significance until the next day.

Even with her own parents, she never trusted anyone enough to sleep in the same room that other people were in, except Naga. But with Senna and Tonraq, she felt, for some unexplainable reason, safe.

The next day, Korra was back to calling Tonraq by his name, and acting somewhat distant around them, although between them now was some invisible bond that tied them together in a companionable, loving way.

And the next day, for the first time, on accident, Korra bended something other than water, and she realized that her power was really the Avatar's. Korra realized that she was the Avatar. She was the one person that her blood ties and her no longer friends had driven her from the small, forgettable village that had once been her home because of the extremely small, off chance she had of being.

Korra was the Avatar, and from the moment she accidentally fire bended, she had loved the act of fire bending.

* * *

It's sort of smallish, so I'm sorry for that, and I want to thank whatever Viewer reviewed on this that gave me the idea to have her learn her powers in secret. I hope it's okay with you that I adopted the idea, since I thought it really would be cool to implement it into this story somehow. I have an idea of some ties that I could work into this, although I'm honestly just righting this when I feel inspired and in the writing mood. Which I still feel that way, so maybe I'll be writing more tonight. Though, no promises. Please review if you have something to say, I'd really appreciate it. Anything you want to say or comment about. This is a learning experiience for me, and I'm as eager as you to see where this might go. So thanks for reading and please review.


	3. Making Fire

What happened that day was simple, Korra was left alone with Naga at home. Senna and Tonraq had to run into town to go shopping. They needed clothes for Korra, and more food, because now they were feeding a family of four.

A family. Was that what they were now? Korra didn't really know. She thought that a family was the people you were related to by blood, but these people made it seem like it was so much more than that.

She still didn't trust them though.

Korra knew enough about people by now to know they had two sides. One side that they showed to different people and another side that was fueled by their emotions.

Korra didn't know what their second side looked like yet, and she didn't want to know. If they began to act around her like her parents and friends had, then she definitely did not want to know. She had enough with letting other people hurt her, she'd promised herself she'd fight next time, and stand up for herself. And she didn't want to know about their second side because if she saw something she didn't like, then she might have to leave them.

And for some reason, these people were growing on her and she didn't want to have to leave them.

Korra watched as Senna and Tonraq left to go shopping, only slightly afraid that they weren't going to come back. She scratched Naga behind the ears as the big polar bear-dog panted heavily next to her. Korra then looked at her dog and wondered why Naga never left her too, to go return to her family.

Surely Naga had a mother bear-dog somewhere, right?

In any case, Korra was glad Naga had stayed with her. Naga seemed like Korra's first real friend, and Korra had really needed a friend. But enough with these sappy thoughts, it was time to get to work.

First, Korra worked through some water bending poses she had seen other water benders do, and through some she had made up. Her body moved fluidly, surely. Korra knew what she was doing.

At some point, water accumulated behind her, and moved with her, following the movements of her hands and body. Korra felt at peace, with herself, and with the quiet that was around her.

Breathing deeply, Korra forgot everything about her past and present, she never thought about her future, and for that moment Korra was just Korra. And Korra smiled, because she knew that now she could work harder, because it was like she released some dam within her and now she could flow more easily.

Just moving with the water made Korra feel more alive than she had in a long time, and Korra laughed, because she liked this feeling. While moving into another pose, Korra's peace got interrupted by Naga.

Naga had been watching Korra move from pose to pose, lying still and, for the most part, silent. But soon Naga couldn't restrain herself and got up and went over to Korra. Then she half licked Korra to death.

With Korra's concentration breaking, Korra tried to push away the large muzzle of the large polar-bear dog, laughing. And all the water Korra had been water bending fell on top of the two of them, thoroughly soaking Korra's clothes and Naga's fur.

Now Korra was shivering as Naga rolled around in the snow. Korra shook her head, not really knowing what to do now. These clothes were pretty much Korra's only pair. Whenever they got too dirty, Senna would take them for the night as Korra slept, and they'd be clean by morning.

Korra hadn't brought any clothes with her besides the things she wore when they found her, and she never wore any of Senna or Tonraq's things because they were too large, and Korra didn't want to ask in case that made them angry with her.

She knew her own parents were extremely possessive over their own things, and they'd get Korra her own things because they never wanted Korra using whatever was there's. That's partly the reason they spoiled Korra so much when she was with them.

Korra called Naga, and they both went into the large house through the door that Tonraq had custom made for Naga when the polar bear-dog stuck around. Naga immediately went over to the corner where some blankets were laying out for her while Korra looked at the fireplace.

There was no fire there, but Korra was sure that it was simple to start one. She had seen Senna and Tonraq make one all the time. And once one was started, Korra could leave her clothes to dry and maybe curl up in the warmth of her bed for a while, because Korra was freezing from the wetness and the cold the outside had given her.

So Korra found some flint, put a little pile together in the fireplace, and struck the flint against a rock a few times, each time seeing a spark that didn't start the fire. With each second wasted trying to get a twig to catch, Korra grew colder and colder, and ever since the day Korra was found be Tonraq and Senna, she hated the cold with a furious vengeance. As Korra continued to hit the flint against the rock, she steadily grew more and more frustrated. Tonraq had made this look so easy, and Senna had talked about this like it was no big deal.

Finally a little spark set a small twig on fire, and Korra was relieved. To get the fire bigger, Korra started piling on more and more big logs. Then she stood there watching, waiting. She was sure that any moment now she wouldn't be so cold, because soon the logs would catch, and there'd be a blaze born before her eyes.

But it didn't work out that way. As she stood there and the minutes passed by with her shivering, she observed the nonexistent fire before her. Slowly, she crouched down and looked at it carefully and noticed that the fire she started on the twig had stopped burning. Anyone else would have realized that the fire had suffocated, that it had not had enough oxygen to really start. But Korra just thought that this fire hated her.

So, as an upset child would sometimes do, Korra threw a fit. She jumped up and down with this angry look on her face, silently screaming. She stopped with that and lashed out at the logs, cursing them for their stupid… stupidity for not starting. The next thing she knew, something red and hot flew from her fists and struck the logs, flinging them until they hit the very back of the fireplace.

Korra then stood very still as she realized that the logs were now on fire. She wasn't sure what had just happened. Korra was aware that something burning had flung from her fist. Was that what had started the fire? What was that?

Slow realization dawned on Korra as each of her questions were answered. What Korra had just done was fire bend. The fire that flew from her fist made the logs burn. The fire that Korra had started with the twig didn't hate her; it just wanted to show her that there was an easier way to go about starting a fire. It wanted to show her that her parents were right all those weeks ago, Korra was the Avatar.

Korra was THE Avatar. Korra was the most powerful, coolest, strongest, awesome, oldest bender on this earth. Korra began to dance around. She loved fire, it was so much warmer than water, and it showed Korra that she could do more than just water bend to protect herself. Korra could fire bend too. And she could earth bend, and air bend, right? That's what the Avatar was supposed to be able to do, from all the stories she was told.

Speaking of telling, what would she tell Senna and Tonraq when they got home? Korra thought for a moment before deciding, she would tell them nothing. They hadn't really done anything yet to show her that she could trust them. And the knowledge of something powerful could drive a person to do crazy things. Korra liked Senna and Tonraq well enough, if she told them of this hidden power within her, they might try to use her or hurt her like her own family and so called friends did.

And right now, Korra needed someplace to stay. She couldn't storm out of a family and run away into a storm with no idea where she was going again, not on the off chance that Senna and Tonraq were out to hurt her. Besides, Korra wanted to play with fire a little more, and see if maybe earth wanted to join in the fun too.

Korra sat by the fire she started proudly, moving her hand a little and watched the fire twist to her whim, waiting for the arrival of Senna and Tonraq. Waiting for the chance to bend the elements some more.


End file.
